How the Kansas City Current and Portland Thorns match up ahead of Saturday’s NWSL final

The Kansas City Current are about to face the Portland Thorns for the NWSL championship at Audi Field in Washington D.C.

There’s still time before kickoff to assess how this matchup might play out. So we’re going to do just that.

We’re pretty familiar with the Current, so this analysis looks more closely at the opposition.

How they got here

The Portland Thorns were in position to win the NWSL Shield on the final day of the season, but instead they tumbled to second place with a 3-3 road draw at Gotham.

That put them on the other side of the bracket, opposite the Current. But because they earned a top-two finish, the Thorns still received a first-round bye in the postseason.

While the Current knocked out the Houston Dash and OL Reign in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Portland needed only to play (and win) one postseason game to reach Saturday’s finale. The Thorns beat the San Diego Wave 2-1 in last weekend’s league semifinals.

Portland fell behind early against the Wave but battled back with a stunning strike from Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez. As the match wore on, now tied, Portland threatened San Diego with waves of attacks into the final third. But Goalkeeper of the Year Kailen Sheridan stood tall, as did the Wave defense.

The match seemed destined for extra time until Crystal Dunn came off the Portland bench to stun San Diego in the final minute of stoppage time with a powerful volley. It was an emotional ending for Dunn and Co. — her first goal since giving birth five months earlier.

A closer look at the Thorns

A longtime power in the NWSL, this iteration of the Thorns is loaded with international-level talent. Sophia Smith should be familiar to Kansas City fans — she scored two goals for the USWNT when the national team visited KC in September.

Raquel Rodriguez is a key member of the Costa Rican National Team. St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn is the USWNT captain and former star for the now-defunct FCKC franchise. Other national team-level players on Portland’s roster: Dunn, Hina Sugita, Sam Coffey, Meghan Klingenberg and Canadian legend Christine Sinclair.

Coached by Rhian Wilkinson, the Thorns typically run a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. Morgan Weaver and Sugita play the wings with Smith up top as the striker. Sinclair acts as a playmaker underneath. Neither of the Thorns’ fullbacks is as active in the attack as Mace and Del Fava are for KC.

Head to head with the Current in 2022

The Current and Thorns faced each other twice this season. Here’s how those games played out:

Thorns 3, Current 0 (April 30):

With an NWSL Challenge Cup semifinal looming two days later, the Current rested some key players in this match at Portland. Desiree Scott, Alex Loera, Kristen Hamilton and Victoria Pickett all came off the bench.

Hailie Mace was still working her way back from injury and then the Current lost Mallory Weber to a season-ending ACL tear just 20 minutes in. Kansas City looked a bit shell-shocked after that. Weaver, Sinclair and Smith scored for Portland.

Said KC team captain Scott afterward: “The key messaging from staff was to focus on each game, each minute that we’re out there. For us, this is a learning moment.”

Current 1, Thorns 1 (Sept. 18):

The host Current had seen their 13-match unbeaten streak end just a few days earlier. This September match against against Portland was one of three home games in seven days for KC.

The Current played without key defender Elizabeth Ball, who was suspended due to yellow card accumulation. And KC was under pressure from Portland from the start.

The Thorns took 28 shots, nine on target. KC keeper AD Franch made eight saves through 86 scoreless minutes, but Rodriguez found the breakthrough for Portland in the 87th. Her first shot ricocheted off the post but came right back to her, and she didn’t miss on her second try.

In the game’s final minutes, Sauerbrunn brought down Mace just outside of the penalty box. Mace put her foot through the resulting free kick to salvage a draw for the Current.